Paris take revenge in French derby

A week ago, Nantes’ 31:26 home win against Paris had left the French derby wide open ahead of the second leg of their Women’s EHF Cup Qualification Round 2 tie.

The team from the French capital were looking for a home revenge and ultimately Paris were fortunate enough to get the necessary result.

Crina Pintea scored nine goals as they won 23:18, leaving the rivals level 49:49 on aggregate, but more goals scored away from home secured a Round 3 spot for Paris.

In contrast, two other derbies in Round 2 were much more predictable. In the second leg matches, Norway’s Storhamar and Hungary’s Siofok simply confirmed their superiority, beating Byasen and Vac respectively once again.

Danish trio march on

Several nations had three participants in Round 2, but only Denmark saw all their teams going through.

A three-goal home victory against Buxtehuder in the first leg did not give any guarantees to Viborg, but last season’s semi-finalists stepped up a gear in Germany. Ann Grete Norgaard paved the way to a 32:25 victory, finishing the game with eight goals.

Nykobing also succeeded in defending a three-goal advantage, beating Michalovce at home 29:22. And Herning, despite a 26:21 defeat at Lubin, accompanied two fellow Danish sides to Round 3 thanks to a 12-goal home victory in the previous week.

Astrakhanochka, Hypo eliminated

Two Russian sides have advanced to the next stage, as Kuban in the only double-header of the weekend beat the Belarusian champions BNTU-BelAZ twice, and Zvezda Zvenigorod had no problems whatsoever clinching their second victory against Salerno.

However, things did not look optimistic for Astrakhanochka following their home 28:27 defeat against Metzingen. The Russian team needed a strong comeback in Germany, but “the Pink Ladies” fully dominated the second leg match and secured a Round 3 spot after an emphatic win, 38:26.

Borussia Dortmund were another German side to progress, beating Romania’s Zalau 24:20 at home, following a 25:25 draw in the previous week.

Eight-time Champions League winner Hypo suffered an early exit in Spain. After winning 22:20 against Mecalia in the first leg, they lost the return leg 28:22 and were eliminated.